Buyer Beware

Tom Turner and I got together and solved the worlds problems over lunch, yesterday. Tom mentioned this pot on ebay that he was sure was from China, but the seller is claiming it was Catawba Valley: alkaline glaze, from the 1800's. Hmmm. See for yourself, here [link no longer available]. (Let us know what you think about this pot.) I had a similar feeling for some of the work I saw at the Hickory show last weekend. Were the pots being sold by the vendors old, authentic, or any good. Were the pots being sold by the potters any good? Since the vendors hadn't made the pots they were selling, I looked at their collection for a clue into their aesthetics. I had never sold my pottery among potters and antique dealers, and I found it to be very refreshing. This market mix of potters and vendors pushed my eyes to look a little harder, challenging my perceptions about the pots I held up as ideal. I was surprised to pick up a beautiful one gallon jar with a beautiful glaze and nice "loose" throwing style, to find it to be really heavy. It's survival through these years due, no doubt, to it solidity. I tend to idealize the old pots and the old ways. There is something to be said of appropriate weight, but this one was a door stop, or to put it another way it seemed to be already filled with something. It is basically a question that I ask as a potter looking at a pot, trying not to get too involved with the back story or history, but looking at the pot for what it is, form, color, etc. Then you have eBay...I thought it was hard to assess a pot in a museum case. Looking at pots on the computer is another way of seeing, but certainly not ideal So, buyer, beware...be ware?